Due to injuries that forced Matt Grzelcyk to go on long-term injured reserve and his inability to settle into a routine for the majority of the season, the 2023–24 NHL season was the worst of his career.
But now that he’s joined the Pittsburgh Penguins in free agency, the defenseman—who disclosed at the outset of the season that he tore his oblique—is hoping for a new beginning.
According to Grzelcyk, the season was “quite frustrating” last week. “I was out due to a kind of ticky-tacky injury. I had to miss ten games because I had to go on LTIR. Just returning and getting back up to speed was a bit difficult.
“I wouldn’t attribute the harm entirely to it. He went on, “I believe I just kind of lost some confidence along the line. It can be difficult for a player to restore that mid-season form. All I’m trying to do right now is move past that. I’m having a great summer so far. I’m very driven to demonstrate my abilities as a gamer once more.
Grzelcyk has some ties to Pittsburgh, even though he attended Boston University after graduating from Charlestown and playing eight seasons with the Bruins. In the city, he was drafted, against the Penguins he made his debut and netted his first goal of the season.
Grzelcyk remarked, “It’s a full-circle moment, and just talking with people makes it feel like something that was meant to be.”
After missing the playoffs for two straight seasons, the 30-year-old now has the opportunity to recover and contribute significantly to the Penguins.
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